Colchester United boss Joe Dunne will allow his players to spend some time with their families on Christmas Day, ahead of their home clash with Stevenage on Boxing Day.

The U's players trained today ahead of the League One game, the first of back-to-back games at the Weston Homes Community Stadium over the festive period.

Colchester follow up their game against Stevenage with a home meeting with Crewe Alexandra, on Sunday.

Dunne said: “Different managers have different methods but I think Christmas is a very important day to be with the family.

“We train most days of the week and it depends on the club.

“But ideally, Christmas is a time to be at home and we’ll have done all of the work prior to the big day.

“It’s a busy period but we’re taking it on a match-by-match basis.

“For the first time since probably early September, we now have a squad where we have options.

“But we don’t want to put any undue pressure or expectations on ourselves.

“We’ve gone from what was a very low point to a very high point and we have to take it game by game.

“We’ll need some positive energy on Boxing Day from the players, staff and fans alike.”

For all of the latest Colchester United news, see the Daily Gazette.